One of the earliest advocates of separately-managed accounts is aiming to capitalize on the growing demand for SMAs among alternative investors.

Kenneth Phillips, who founded and ran SMA platform PMC International for 13 years, has set up HedgeMark International. The new firm offers an independent, open-architecture SMA platform specifically for investors in alternative assets.

“The hedge fund industry is on the cusp of a second wave of growth, one that will be defined by a significantly higher level of fiduciary care, improved transparency, and ongoing operational due diligence,” Phillips said. “By giving investors greater control over the portfolio construction process and the ability to better understand the risk profile of their investments, HedgeMark is positioned to play a leading role as the industry continues to evolve.”

Boulder, Colo.-based HedgeMark’s platform offers position-level transparency data, building, modeling and testing features, and due diligence reporting. The platform also features independent investment management, supervisory and monitoring services, as well as a manager research and selection library.

HedgeMark is seeking to build a client base among institutional investors initially, including some funds of hedge funds. The firm boasts offices in New York and Los Angeles in addition to its Colorado base.

From the current issue of

The ratio calendar combination spread couples two ratio calendar spreads, one using calls and the other using puts. The call strike prices are higher than the put strike prices. This strategy is complex and profit is limited, but if a high amount of time value is involved in the short positions, that profit can be substantial and risk is still limited.